Du. Saraswathi, a social activist, said that the prevailing caste and gender-based discrimination and inequality have deprived people of becoming knowledgeable. She delivered a talk on Food Systems, Women, and the Knowledge Question, on Friday, as part of a three-day convention on Knowledge in Society, at Shankarghatta. Ms. Saraswathi stated that because of inequality and discrimination, the marginalised sections including women, Adivasis, and Dalits have been forgotten. “We have not become knowledgeable in the real sense because of discrimination and inequality,” she said. Referring to her field study to understand food systems, she said that women had excellent knowledge of plants and animals. Any woman could identify more than 50 leafy vegetables and very well understood the anatomy of animals, which they normally cut to prepare food. “We do not treat their understanding about the nutritional value of food items and the diversity they brought to the food system as knowledge,” she said. Further, she pointed out that many women with vast knowledge about food might not have a language to communicate their understanding in …